Geoff Emerick, the recording engineer who worked on the Beatles' classic albums, died Tuesday, Rolling Stone reported. He was 72.
Emerick's death was confirmed by his agent, David Maida, who said that a heart attack was the cause of death, the magazine reported. Emerick's manager, William Zabaleta, confirmed the death to Variety.
"Geoff suffered from heart problems for a long time," Zabaleta told Variety. "He had a pacemaker and, you know, when it's your time, it's your time. We lost a legend and a best friend to me, and a mentor."
Emerick was the audio engineer who worked on Beatles classics such as "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" -- for which he won a Grammy Award -- and "Abbey Road." He began working with the group in September 1962 when he was 16 and an assistant at EMI Studios, Rolling Stone reported.
Beatles producer George Martin officially asked Emerick to become the Beatles’ sound engineer in 1966, the magazine reported. The first track he helped on was the final song on the “Revolver” album, “Tomorrow Never Knows.”
On Twitter, Abbey Road Studios mourned Emerick's death, posting that, "We are hugely honored to be part of Emerick's story and we are committed to ensuring his legacy lives on at the studio."
The Beatles' official Twitter feed noted that Emerick's work as audio engineer "was integral, resulting in multiple highly deserved Grammy Awards."
In a July 2017 interview with Variety, Emerick cited "A Day in the Life" from "Sgt. Pepper" as his top moment with the Beatles.
“The night we put the orchestra on it, the whole world went from black and white to color,” he told the magazine.
In addition to his Grammy on the “Sgt. Pepper” album, Emerick also won Grammys for Best Engineer on “Abbey Road” and Paul McCartney’s "Band on the Run" album.
Emerick also worked with Elvis Costello, The Zombies and Johnny Cash, CNN reported.
On his Facebook page, McCartney said that while the Beatles had several engineers during the band's career, Emerick was "the ONE."
“He was smart, fun-loving and the genius behind many of the great sounds on our records,” McCartney wrote.
